HOLLYWOOD — While this place definitely has its wacky moments, most days really aren’t that different from life in any other big city.
For the majority of those who make their home here, that means paying bills, bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic, more bills, carpooling, play dates …you get the picture.
But every now and then there’s a little reminder that you happen to be living in a company town — one which would never be mistaken for a Detroit or a Pittsburgh.
Such a reminder recently announced itself with the arrival of the Sunday paper, which was enclosed in a brightly coloured promotional freebie wrapper.
A shampoo sample, perhaps?
Nope.
One of those Starbucks instant coffee thingys?
Nuh-uh.
Try a complimentary download of the original score to Disney/Pixar’s Up.
Not exactly something that would be considered a household commodity, but then again, chances are pretty good that in a number of these particular L.A. Times-reading households resides a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences or other awards bestower.
Working with aggressively reduced advertising budgets, studios have been forced to come up with more creative ways of pitching their Oscar best bets.
In the case of that swell Michael Giacchino Up score, a glossy paper band containing a special code word proves a lot more cost effective than a 30-second For Your Consideration TV spot.
That’s especially crucial in a year with a crowded playing field, and not just in regard to the Best Picture category doubling its contender count from five to 10.
A record number of submissions for Best Animated Film are triggering the expansion of that category from the customary three nominees to five.
It was only the second time since the animated category was introduced in 2001 that the number of eligible entries exceeded the 15 required to add those extra slots.
So even though Pixar has a pretty good track record in that category, the increased competition is forcing Disney to come up with fresh ways of reaching folks where they live.
The studio marketing people are even getting creative with the trade papers, whose industry readers are used to being bombarded with full-page For Your Consideration ads.
A recent cover of the Hollywood Reporter featured an attention-grabbing 3D image from Sony Pictures Animation’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Although it wasn’t the first time a print publication has incorporated 3D into its pages, the fresh, proprietary technology developed by 3D Virtual Images, a company specializing in dimensional posters and DVD packaging, certainly had people looking twice.
And, once again, the costs associated with 3D have come down dramatically in recent years, adding negligible amounts to print production budgets.
Of course, it goes without saying that the above tricks of the trade are simply intended to remind the various awards voters of all the deserving stuff that came out over the past 12 months.
They’re not meant in any way, shape, or form to sway those votes in a particular direction, because, after all, artistic merit should speak for itself.
Now, where did I put that Café Du Monde authentic New Orleans Beignet Mix that the Princess and the Frog folks so thoughtfully delivered the other day?
Michael Rechtshaffen, a Canadian entertainment writer based in Los Angeles, appears Wednesdays and Sundays.
